ECCLES, municipal borough, Eccles parliamentary division, Lancashire, England, 4 m. W. of Manchester, of which it forms practically a suburb. Pop. (1931) 44,415. It is served by the L.M.S. railway. The Manchester Ship canal passes through. Be fore the Reformation the monks of Whalley abbey had a grange here at what is still called Monks' Hall; and in 1864 many thou sands of silver pennies of Henry III. and John of England and William I. of Scotland were discovered near the spot. From early times "wakes" were held at Eccles, and bull-baiting, bear-baiting and cock-fighting were carried on. Under Elizabeth these festi vals were abolished, but were revived under James I., and main tained until late in the 19th century. The church of St. Mary, be lieved to date from the 12th century, has been much restored. There are several modern churches and chapels, a town hall and numerous cotton mills, while silk-throwing and the manufacture of fustians and ginghams are also among the industries, and there are also large engine works. Eccles cakes have a wide reputation. Eccles was incorporated in 1892. The borough maintains the tramway service, etc., but water and gas are supplied from Man chester and Salford respectively.